I

yr-~-----------------_.­FOR YOUNG BRAD .'<,IT WAS ,JUST1'HE BEGINNING OF ANOTHER.

<. ORDINAR.Y DAY AT EXCESS MAR.KETING,INC..•THE YOUNG AND RESTLESS WORK FORCE FOllOWING THE BABY BOOM

PULLED AN ALL -N IGHTER AGAIN, RIGHT, PRETIY ZONED! BRAD? HOw DO YOU THE ALBACORE REPORT 15 DUE,

FEEL? AND MR. BIGTON ASKED ME TO CONCEPT UP TWO ALTERNATI\lE 50LUiIONS: A "TRADIilONAt: ONE,

PLUS MY OWN,"CREATIVE" APPROACHl --SO HERE I AM!GENERATION

They were raised on Pop - Tarts, swimming pools and boundless promise. They want everything-and deserve room to gofor it. To get the bestfrom them, follow this'guide to care and leading.­

An old friend of mine named Don carne back from (

home on his 26th

,,' ' ~. birthda. His mother was there to ick him up. After

~ome cursory hellos and you-look-greats,1 a silenc'e fell

over the conversation on the way home in the Mercedes.

"So, Don...what exactly do you think you'll be doing'

.. next?" his mother asked. By Doug Coupland

"Can we just drive home Illustrations by

and talk about this later?" Paul Rivoche

Mom had a hunch it would

be a long time before the

ViS T /l <'

Don is not stupid. In his 26 years, he has earned a business degree, worked in an ad agency, wailed tables at the best restaurant in lown, traveled 10 Europe and Africa. On his recent birthday, he was returning from a year coaching a hockey team in Japan. He speaks three languages, owes no money and theoretically has the world in his pockeL

But Don still has his parents pick him up at the airport, and he lives in their condo. He cannot articulate an)" plans for the future beyond following his girlfriend back East, where she has lined up ajob selling real estate, Ihen maybe going back to school or, reluctantly, back to Japan if nothing else pans out. "I'd rather not go back," he says. "All of the foreigners there are losers trying to run away from the fact that they screwed up back wherever they came from. I don't want guilt by association."

Don, like so many people I know in their twenlies, can do anything he wants, but instead he is doing nothing. Or, rather, he is doing many things, but there i~ no seeming

pattern and he bas no long-range plan in mind. His biggeSt fear in life, like that of British aristocrats in Evelyn Waugh 'novels, is boredom.

Los Angeles sociologist Susan Littwin calls young people like Don members of the The Postponed Generation. in her 1986 book of the same title. British punk rock star Billy Idol calls them Generation X. Specifically Ibey are college·edu· cated people born bet;yeen 1958 and 1968 10 middle and upper-middle class fam;lies. Numbering around 20 million in North Amenca, people like Don are now entering the work force in bulk, carrying with them a set of inflexible allilUdes that challenge traditional views of an employee's role. For people hiring them, or working with them, they presem new challenges. But they can also be tremendous resources, as long as tht"y are managed and integrated into office life in ways that bf:sl exploit their considerable talents.

The History of X According (Q Lillwin, Type Xs were "caught in a wrinkle of hislory," Of the millions of oun eo Ie now in their twenlies, s are an exclusive subgToup raise y epresslon·

era parents who wanted Winculcate thei~ offspring with the sense of ho e and 0 hmlsm oflered by the sunshine ears 01

the 1960s and 1970s. N'l,ther IlIppIeS, a y oomers nor yuppIes. Xs were brought up living lives of Pop.Tarts and swimming pools, of lib, raJ ideas and a belief in higher education as the pipelin to all worthy employment. Unlike Baby Boomers, Xs neve went through a mass ideological catharsis, and they have no particular political affiliations. In fan, Xs.. consider thems~lves to be a pan of no particular ~oup at alLJa.'hich is one of their key characteristics. Their upbringings, whether in Orange County, Mississauga or Shaughnessy, were safe alld comfortable, and promised a life ofpri\'ilege like their par~nts-a new aristocracy.

Circumstances like thi~ however, had certain ill effects on their personalities. In his book The Privil'lJed Orus, child psychologist Robert Coles points out thai distinct behavioral patterns once found onl)' in the u er classes be an see 111

cown 10 the 19/us-suc characteristics as an inflated

r

em hasis on the self and a dislike of answerin tl others. the "Honestly," says Janet, a resident of Vancouver's upscale e ief that all fantaSIes wIll come true, that· thin s will British Properties neighborhood and mother of three boys

~so~m~elih~o~w~w~o~rEk~o~u~t~o~rjt~h~e~b~e~st~a~n~dJ!th~a~t~tqhge~w~o~r~ld~its:::"'in their twenlies, "down at Super·Valu. we mothers used (0

Jcnerously supplied with safety nelS. All of th 's~ trails are characlcnsuc oT the Type X, who is always 100 mg for the ~rfeet career and believes there will always ~ someone LO

bail him or her out of trouble. \ What uhimatcl)" happened as Generation X k ds grew up?

The brilliant worJd of opportunity promised y their par· enlS, educations and shellered upbringings nev r arrived for them. Instead came the highl), competitive, bland and corporate 1980s. The personal development and self-absorp· lion thal Xs had come to cherish was no longer modish, nor were the "soft'· liberal arts degrees LOuted by t~eir parents. An age of dimlOlshmg expectations arnved lor a generauon totally prepared for the opposite. The resuIt? A group of people who feel no job is ever crealive or fleXible enough to fulfill their sense of entitlement.; youn adults who have trouble growmg up and leavmg tile security 0 t lelr parents!!mn.es;. a generation profoundly d1sellcltallied!,,"~ there long enough, something good's bound to come along. that f~ls ~~~ble LO effect change and that 'e IsteTs thiS Until then, I'll just waiL Mom and Dad don't mind. I'm fun 10

SIX YEARS OF HIGHER EDUCATION, FOR WH"'T?­UPPER MII.NAGEMENT

HOP.,.ICUL,.URE I

I'M TELLING YOU, LARRY, WE SHOULD PlJT SOME PUNKS,OR AT LEAST SOME

ARTISTS,ON THIS SNOWMOBILEl WHAT DO YOU SAY, BRAD?

sentimenl by nonparticipation-by forever, the fringe.

Mom and Dad's house conveniently offers' retreat after a career avenue closes, and Ih freedom to continue hunting for ideal emplo)'menL It full'lIs their dual emotional needs for luxurious security and for creaUve freedom, which is a possibly unhealthy lrrangement. Liltwin calls itlhe "rebellion and rescue depentlency...",hich well may be the social disease of the 1980s. Th~ young adult resents that he has been given so much that he cannol ~Ive himself. He has been cared for 100 well and too consclen· tiously, but security is never absolute or penna enl."

The X in The Family ] have never found any shortage of eilher parenls or offspring willing to discuss Ihe X phenomenon-and always with a weahh of personal experience and detail. They always know exactl)' what you arc talking abouL :

always ask each other what the kids were doing. but ~ow ,we just don't do it anymore. We all know what the answer s gOl?g to be: Susan's JUSt quit her job or Kenny's back home agam. Are we never going to get these children out of our Ii.ves?"

Janet, whose earliest memories are of the D~presslOn.and war ralioning, has, like pareI1ls of most Xs, mixed feelings. "It'd be cold to justlhrow them out on the street-I mean, we all know how expensive it isjust to live these days. Butl can't help but wonder if we've been doing the kids a disser:ice all these years by helping them tOO much. Our generat~on ~ot married the first week after we graduated from uOIverslty and that was that. It simply never occurred to.us to ask our parents for anything,"

Janet's youngest son offers his perspective: "There's just no wa)' I'm going to come down in the world. Period. Forg~t some job Ih~t's boring and killing me anyway. If I hang an

have around." lode.ed, T):~c Xs seem to rake far longer to cut the cord

th~D did prc\'Ious generations. They flip-flop a lot between chiC downtown hovels and colonial comfort chez Mom and Dad, oflen using Dad's BMW or Mom's Prelude to effect their

I fre~u.ent moves. "1 can live in a dump." says Sharon. 26, an a~plrmg TorolHO fashion designer, "or I can live in a palace \\'Ith free food. laundry, a car and people around so I don't have to be 10n~,ly. Let's gel real. I c~n afford style on my salary, but not lu:cury. (SocIOlogist LltlWIO notes in her book thal Xs tend to ne~d st)'lish surroundings to reinforce their some. what baronial self·perceptions.)! have also found that nearly everyone knows of S9.And.

So s son or daug~ter\~ho showed so much promise, yet now, as a young adult. IS ~olOg nothing more than tree planting in sU~1I~er and bummmg around Mexico in winter. Don has his 0plOlons on this ~ssue, too. "Sure, I can get a job," he grumbles after a failed phone call with his dad, "if I want to n~an a french.fry compUler the rest of my life. There's a difference between having a job and being employed:'

The X and Jobs Typically, T e Xs leave ood jobs because Ihe are either I nored or perceive t emse ves as elD I nored at work. Such was le case wit Douglas, a promising 23-year.o Tor?~to furniture designer who left a $25,000 eotry.level posItion after 14 months because, he says, "I'd go ahead and put 100 pe.rcent in.to a new series of knockdown chests. get loIS of praISe, but m Ihe end Ihey'd just go ahead and make ~vhat cost the least Theyjust wouldn't listen. I also started an m·house ~e~'sletter that I saw as being essential for a well.f~nc~lOmng company, but it died from upper.manage. ment indifference."

Mana ement indifference is a common Type X com laint. ~ynn tv asoo. COOl' lOator 0 un ergra uate p acement ser. Vices at Stanford University, in Palo Alto, California, advises employers ~o give this group input into decision-making processes-in such areas as management, product develop. ment and strategic planning-whelher or not lheir ideas are actually used_ "Members of this group no longer see the

PLANTS! THAT'S t, JOKE BRAD A .TOKE I USTEN.YA5UHIRO'S BREATHING DOwN MY NECK TO GET HIS FALL PATTERN WORK DONE! I FOUND AN APAFqMENT WE SHOULD CHecK OUT! IT'S NINE HUNDRED A MONTH BUT fr5 SUPPOSED 10 HAVE" CllARAc1ER A'NP SHAG! .....

lamo~ o~,workin for a large firm as being all.importan4" she sa~ s. . e' n e .Ieasl bit paranoid of maklOg a wrong careiiJihoice. As a ~e.,uI4 lhe strong trend IS lor them t? go to s~a er compames where their ideas at least get listened to mstead ofgelling lost in 47 layers of bureaucracy. MOstofthe people in this age group who quit theirjobs do so because ~l~r feel a frustrated sense of creativity. Their need to see their Ideas materialized is imporlant to them,"

She adds .that Trpe Xs shun work they perceive as rouline ?ecause their slr~ngths lie in other areas: "They're experts al Inter ersonal skills and marketin themseTVa. And because their.educations ha\:e t~ame t em largely as designers and ana1lzers. the. aVOId obs that make them mere im le­mem~rs of po IC\". Caree~ aT(.' seen as a who e an entity t at combmes a~l facers ofthelr pusonalities rather than simply a war of makmg money." . The strongesltrend Mason sees happening for this group IS the chOice of careers that exploit bOlh lhe individuals'

academic back ounds and personal passions. "A business major who I es tenms cou w go Into mar eting with a firm like Nike rather than become an accountanL llltimately, it makes far healthier emotional sense,"

Mason's colleague Yolande Morales. director of graduate recruiling. agrees that certain careers appeal to the Type X more than others. "They're tending to avoid jobs dealing with repetition or number·crunching. They also seem to want to be in the pulse of Ihings and are not so warm on manufacturing·related positions that take place in a plant rather than downtown. From lhe ideological standpoint, the' mililary and companies with defense contracts are having hard times recruiting on campus these days, too."

The jobs that do satisfy the Type X self·perception as designer and analyzer are, she says, "communications, broadcasting, writing, technical research and devdopmenl, marketing and the arts. And remember, these are people with business degrees." While investment banking is still a popular ticket, she adds, management consulting has also taken on a new allure. Finally, she· points out, like Lynn Mason, lhat careers are no longer as degree-specific as they

AND SO, TUCKERED OUT AFTER A WEEK SPENT DUELLING YUPPIES,BRAD RETURNS TO THAT FAMILIAR NEO-COL.ONIAL OASIS•••HOME...

once were. Flexibility is the dominant philosophy.

Identifying The X How can you quickly tell if you have a Type X on your hands? Check for the following traits:

• Conservative, stylish appearance • 1m ressive, credential· acked resume • Well·trave e • Good conversationalist • Impressive, if overextensive, education • Seemin~ly full of ideas Indeed. a of the characteristics one might actively look

for in an entry·level employee. But a further investigation by employers would also reveal the following key personality points:

• They don't want nine·lo·five jobs because the)' make them feel stined and boxed-in. At the same lime, they want security.

• They don't like tasks thal seem boring or repetitious. • They place great emphasis on creativity and not doing jobs 'Just for the money." • They often have an amusingly cynical attilude, yet call themselves realists and pride themselves on lheir ideals.

Bossing The X Are Type Xs worth the special effort it rakes to deal wilb them? While they appear spoiled or pampered as they lalk of

~arents' winler in GSlaad or of their own inability to ride on buses.!!l.e answer is yes. Their seemingly dileuamish . flights from expene1"!ce to experience are attempts to build a broader base of understandin in themselves as the were

.tramed to 0 and this translates into a capab e, roa· minded and flexible employee. Not as worned aboul losmg their jobs as other employees. Xs will. once committed to a

project or a boss, give t0LaI lo):altyor in Lynn Mason swords, "a commitment to the whole ,.

Because of the number of Xs now in the labor force, it seems inevitable that employers are going to h~ve to play give·and-lake a bil more to adapt to their needs. Accommo-

NOTHING EVER HAPPENS IN MY UFE!MY JOB IS BORING, AND IT'S KILUNG ME... I'LL NEVER GET OUT OF THIS HOUSE...HMM.I WONDER IF I'LL GET RADIATiON BURNS FPOM ,.HIS MEATLOAF?

dations such as fleX-lime, sabbaticals, unusual working·hour arrangements or simply open·mindedness to new ideas will help employers best lap this group's skills. "II all boils down to that one phrase-nine·to·five," says Keith, 27, a semi· employed MBA and consultant. ''I'd rather starve than work lhose hours. Oh, ~ know it sounds snooty and trite, but I'm a human being. Dad did nine·to·five for 30 years and it got him to a pretty good point, bUI he has his regrets now. He acknowledges Ihat there are huge gaps in his life that will never, ever be filled. Imagine not being able to do it over again. I never want to have to feel that"

If you're in a position of managing Type Xs in an office, )'OU might follow these pointers:

At corry.level let your Type X know that a good perfor· mance will lead to a rapid move up the ladder. Possessing strong egos, Xs will be spooked if Ihey feel they are only forgonen numbers or cogs in a machine.

Try to give Xs input on decisions. whelher it is to rearrange lliJ:§J

the office furniture or to establish a branch office in Beijing. Give your X an impressive tide. This seems cynical, and Xs ~ When asking T e Xs to work on a problem, ask the", for wil.1 be the first 10 make a linlejoke of it, but it costs nothing

twO sets of solUtions: one mor tra IllOna an one efea Ive. and acts as an added incentive to perform well in ajob that .J 1e latter may be too far out, but the stretchmg exercise IS otherwise might be less glamorous.

1"',1Igood and could lead to an unexpected answet". ' Some Final Warnings .If an X's 'pb erformance is no ood, don't pussyfoot aroun te your X. They are out to Improve t erose ves as It is poor poliC}- 10 hint that your firm fires people for t

much as they can. and if they do not have an aptitude for performances that are les:; than excellent. Type Xs do 0n.L- i somethmg, they will aRm f( late Eliowihi about It as soon as worn' about choosing tbe wrong career and will cheerfull~ . r possible and movin on to somethin else. takethis threat ofjoh secu)-jty as an 'opportunity to leave. ~

Ive s projects re uirin initiative: fact·findin assi Using phraseology like ','team spirit" or "it's for the good menlS, researc ,mveSll atian into ossibl' f ' of the company" will not em any mustard wilh Type'Xs, They '.j",

Ive praise more than you would give other em· will immedi?'e1~' s"spec' Sr\meooe is otH 1O get somethmg for f! ployees and over small things, too. Because of their depen­ ..!lQ!!ling..!.ikewise. tr)" not to phrase projects in terms Or"l' \ dence on parents and their Jon schoolm s, the are used to "hlt'sll dull'dbut d",e'llll makbe 1::'1one)'," The X idealism, will be ,I It an respon etter to itthan other workers. c a enge ,an w, pro av y WID out over you,

LeI Xs work by themselves, While they need 10 know the A curious point about T :pe Xs is that while they work well details of a project, they do not enjoy being babysat. with people their own age, or people two decades older than

..A.. e Xs excel at 'obs re uirin anal sis, forecastin or themselves. the\' do not gelt along with members of the Baby

.",.... marketing flair. t is their absolute fone. Boom. currenth' those roili~hlr 30 to 45. I hiS tn.ltself IS too- ,,' Put Xs 10 work with older people, Xs and "Ward Cleavers" long an issue 10 be de

l3 t with here, but the general Ii

tena 10 get along famously, Not only will Xs enjoy the aura of antagonism Xs feel towards Boomers is one of the sile.nl stability older people provjde, but older people appreciate schisms of our era. Let it sluffice to say that if the possi.bility t and respolig,iell to lhe generally polite and respectlul exists of separating the two groups, it is not a bad idea. [j] i tendenCies 0 s. ~(

Send XS to conferences, put them on the road or put them in UP'IrOllt posIlions. Excellent interpersonal skills allow

I them to enjoy these tasks. and they erform them with ease. G,ve yee s ea lines, They find this sort of challenge '

highly remmlscent 01 school and term papers. ~ ! j

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